UK shares held steady on Friday as trading began to wind down ahead of Christmas and investors awaited a parliamentary vote on the Brexit deal, while Shell dipped after it forecast $2.3 billion in impairment charges for its latest quarter.
The FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 were roughly flat by 0810 GMT. With major events such as a 'phase one' U.S.-China trade deal and the British election done, the vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal is set to take centre stage.
With a clear majority in parliament, the deal - which now includes a provision for a hard, December 2020 deadline to reach a trade agreement with the European Union - is expected to be ratified without any major hiccups.
Shell gave up 1%, the most notable move in early deals, as the oil major also trimmed its forecast for quarterly oil production sales.
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) ((Shashwat.Awasthi@thomsonreuters.com; within UK: +1 646 223 3403; outside UK: +91 80 61822606, +91 80 37962606;))
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